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NEW MARKER FOR IDENTIFYING WOMEN AT RISK OF BREAST CANCERIn a study conducted by Susan Hankinson, Sc.D., at Harvard Medical School's Channing Laboratory, premenopausal women up to age 54 or 55 with higher levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) were more than twice as likely to develop breast cancer. The risk was even higher for women under age 50. No association was seen among postmenopausal women. (The Lancet, 1998:351:1393-1396)IGF-1 is produced by the liver and helps cells grow while blocking natural cell death. I t may also play a role in tumor growth. The researchers studied IGF-1 levels in serum samples from 620 healthy women and 397 patients diagnosed with breast cancer an average of four to five years after providing the samples. The participants were part of the Nurses Health Study. Relative risk for breast cancer for women with IGF-1 levels was 2.88 among premenopausal women and 7.28 among those under age 50. Other studies have found that levels of IGF-1 dropped in women who take Tamoxifen. Jeff Holly, Ph.D., a professor of surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary in Bristol, England, noted that the new study, as well as the previous one on prostate cancer, both add great weight to the theory of IGF-1 as a risk factor for cancer. When the growth hormone is not functioni ng properly, cells can continue to grow and the cancer can develop. Patients with high IGF-1 levels and low binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) tend to incur the greatest cancer risk. If the study is confirmed and IGF-1 has a strong association with cancer, then we can think of designing ways of altering or avoiding cancer by controlling the hormone or other factors that control IGF-1 concentration. Significant improvement was noted in survival among women who had breast cancer resected in the luteal phase (postovulatory). --> return to menu / back ... (click) --> return to top of the page (click) |
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